Young people from around the world play basketball during the sports exchange week. [Photo/Nanjing Morning News]

The 2023 Belt and Road Youth Sports Exchange Week (Jiangsu), an annual event inaugurated in 2020, kicked off in Huai'an, East China's Jiangsu province on May 27.

About 300 young people from 48 countries and regions will participate in a series of sports activities, including men's 3x3 basketball games, outdoor sports challenges, and orienteering boot camps, during the week.

According to the organizers, which include the Jiangsu provincial departments of sport and education, the event is aimed at helping young people abroad learn more about Jiangsu, strengthening friendships with them, and promoting people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

A Tongan student from Southeast University in Nanjing, who has taken part in the sports week for three consecutive years, is attending again with a basketball team he set up at his school. "It's great to meet so many friends from different countries in China," he said.

Young people from different countries attend the sports exchange week. [Photo/Nanjing Morning News]